Texas Tree Upkeep

We have 8 Water Oaks around our house. Last month a tree trimming company that has been caring for these trees for years spent a day trimming the trees, removing the mistletoe and cleaning up all the trimmings which they fed into a chipper to make mulch. By trimming the trees, more sunlight gets through and we actually have grass growing under a few of the trees where there was none. They had a "cherry picker lift" on a truck, they lifted a worker up into the tree and the fellows climbed around in the trees doing their work. If you click on the picture it will be larger and you'll be able to see the guy in the tree. 

Honey From the Rock

Rusk is a pretty town 28 miles east of Palestine. The past weekend they held their Fall and Heritage Festival at the Jim Hogg City Park. This is a beautiful park that was once a state park, however, it was not cared for and fell into disrepair, so the state deeded it to the city of Rusk. They have done a great job with it. We rented booth space and set up our honey. Sales were brisk. The weather was absolutely gorgeous - we had a fun day.

Frankston Square Fair

Frankston is a town of 1200 about 24 miles north of Palestine. It is just a few miles from Lake Palestine, a huge lake. Last week they had their 32nd annual "Square Fair". It coincides with homecoming at the high school. When I was a kid growing up on Long Island, NY the volunteer fire departments each had a parade and carnival during the summer to raise money for the department. Well here in TX, some volunteer fire departments have a parade, festival and BBQ dinner and in some towns like Frankston, the school district organizes the festival. There was a parade, and then around the town square the various classes from Kindegarten through seniors in high school had a booth, most selling food items. Instead of having kids go door-to-door selling popcorn, etc. they make their money at the Fair. One lady I know worked in the seniors' booth - they sold 325 hamburgers in 4 hours. Next year we are going to rent a booth space and sell honey! Several town residents got together and gave the gazebo a fresh coat of paint for the Fair.

East Texas State Fair

In September the East Texas State Fair was held in Tyler, which is an hour north of Palestine. It was comparable to a county fair in Arizona. These 4-H cattle were being judged. It was interesting listening to the judge explain what he was looking for in a bovine. We spent about three hours at the Fair just wandering around looking at all the critters, tractors, bees, baby chicks, jams and jellies, quilts and crafts.